GV280 Lecture 21 Cock ups and U-turns “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and.

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Presentation on theme: "GV280 Lecture 21 Cock ups and U-turns “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and."— Presentation transcript:

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GV280 Lecture 21 Cock ups and U-turns “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.”

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Relative values Policies that appear foolish to some people may seem sensible to others (sometimes, but not always, depending on their party allegiance) Not all policies that initially appear foolish, misguided or mismanaged are still seen that way with the benefit of hindsight Some policies that seem reasonable at first later turn out to have been foolish, misguided or mismanaged

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Building project no. 1 Estimated cost was exceeded by 1400% – Largely funded by proceeds from lottery Construction took 10 years longer than expected Eventual building was dismissed as ‘white elephant’

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William Waldegrave, 1993: “In the end there is no magic wand which can ensure that human decision-makers avoid mistakes.” (Quoted in Butler et al., Failure in British Government, p. 302)

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Butler et al.: system failure Elective dictatorship – Ability of the government to push through any policy – Extreme flexibility of constitution – Convention of local government autonomy can be flouted at will... –... and was, by the Poll Tax and similar measures

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The U-turn “To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the U- turn, I have only one thing to say: You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning!” - Margaret Thatcher, 1980 “I can only go one way. I've not got a reverse gear” - Tony Blair, 2003